For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, there is available a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of load ports LP1 to LP3 for mounting carriers CA1 to CA3 as wafer accommodating containers, an atmospheric pressure transfer chamber EFEM including an atmospheric pressure robot AR for transferring a substrate under an air atmosphere, a plurality of load lock chambers LM1 to LM2 capable of switching an atmospheric state and a vacuum state, a vacuum transfer chamber TM including a vacuum robot VR for transferring a substrate in the vacuum state, and a plurality of process chambers PM1 to PM4 as substrate process chambers are disposed in the named order. FIG. 1 is a view of the substrate processing apparatus viewed from the upper side.
In this substrate processing apparatus, for example, the carrier CA1 which accommodates a plurality of wafers W is mounted on the load port LP1. After the door CAH1 of the carrier CA1 is opened, the wafers W are transferred to the load lock chamber LM1 via the atmospheric pressure transfer chamber EFEM by the atmospheric pressure robot AR under the air atmosphere. Then, after the load lock chamber LM1 is brought into the vacuum state by closing a gate valve LD1, the wafers W existing within the load lock chamber LM1 are transferred to the process chamber PM1 via the vacuum transfer chamber TM by the vacuum robot VR. The wafers W subjected to substrate processing such as deposition or the like within the process chamber PM1 are returned to the carrier CA1 on the load port. LP1 in the reverse order.
At this time, the wafers W existing within the carrier CA1 are exposed to the air atmosphere. Thus, impurities or moisture contained in the air atmosphere adhere to the wafers W. This adversely affects the substrate processing performed within the process chamber PM1.
The present disclosure provides a substrate processing technique capable of suppressing the exposure to an air atmosphere of substrates accommodated within a substrate accommodating container.